After Censoring Him, John Oliver Brutally Trolls Disney Using Public Domain Mickey Mouse

It happens all the time, but usually, the public will never know about it. Studios feuding with their stars has become commonplace over the decades in Hollywood. But they get together behind the scenes, and it’s over.

On those rare occasions, the feud will spill into the public. See Walt Disney’s fight with Scarlett Johansson over royalties. But the two sides settled things in court, and she is even rumored to be working on a Tower of Terror film with Disney. 

But now, Disney’s lawyers will be working overtime in its feud with comedian and host of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver. Besides his weekly hosting duties on HBO, Oliver also played Zazu in the live-action Lion King (2019). But that has not stopped him from brutally attacking over its attempt to censure him and his show.

The Feud Origins

The relationship between John Oliver and the Walt Disney Company started out fine enough. He readily admits that he was typecast as Zazu, given his close resemblance to a bird. And The Lion King ended up being a massive hit for Disney.

But about three years ago, John Oliver realized that a Disney-owned property was censuring Last Week Tonight for international audiences, cutting out parts of shows or not airing shows at all. It started with a show critical of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Disney-owned Hotstar, which broadcasts HBO in India, did not air that show.

We’re back February 18th, and we’re pretty sure this was an okay way to let you know about it!! Ya, probably fine. pic.twitter.com/rcF5KweIZi

— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) January 24, 2024

The Walt Disney Company then cut parts of episodes that were critical of China’s one-child policy and cut a joke about Mickey Mouse being on drugs. Oliver aired a segment of his show that was critical of the Walt Disney Company for censoring parts that they believed were critical of world leaders, their policies, or the Disney company.

But that was just the beginning. With Mickey Mouse set to enter the public domain, Oliver and his show slipped a picture of Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse into their opening credits and only revealed that they had violated Disney’s copyright of Steamboat Willie after it had aired for weeks.

Oliver also went after other Disney characters, including Donald Duck, Chip and Dale, and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast (1991). 

But as 2023 began to draw to a close and Oliver realized that the Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse would be entering the public domain, he used this as an opportunity to have Mickey replace Chuck E Cheese as the mascot of the restaurant and tell children exactly how he felt including they were “not special.”

Now it’s 2024, and Steamboat Willie has lost all copyright protection. Oliver decided to use it to promote the upcoming season of Last Week Tonight. 

Oliver took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that his show was returning on February 18 with a giant Mickey Mouse. It is running with the tagline, “What are they going to do, sue?”

Related: After Only A Day in the Public Domain, Mickey Mouse is Getting Brutalized on Social Media

Oliver is not the only one taking advantage of this iconic character losing his copyright protection. There are already several horror movies starring Steamboat Willie and dozens of videos on X.

But now that Disney has lost the trademark on this original Mickey Mouse, it appears there is very little their lawyers can do to the late-night host. But don’t expect John Oliver to appear in any more Disney movies.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.